Brightspark Blog

Our expert International Tour Consultants, Paula and Brian, recently joined a student tour headed to Paris & Normandy. Now, they're sharing their experiences so you can get a feel for a Brightspark Travel international student trip.

Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, Paula has lived in Chicago for 10 years. An avid traveler — she has visited 27 countries and counting — her favorite destinations are France, Perú, and Iceland.

Originally from Southern California, Brian has been travelling internationally since he was 11 years old. His favorite places to visit are Costa Rica, France, and Thailand.

Follow along as you hear about their journey through France, learn about their favorite destinations, and even find out their favorite French snacks!

All spring long, you took creative and inspired travel photos. You submitted your favorites. We sifted through all the entries and chose 12 finalists. Then, we let the Brightspark team vote for their top picks. All the votes have been tallied, and we're ready to announce the winners of our Brightspark Travel 2018 Photo Contest!

Did you know June 14th is Flag Day? The Star-Spangled Banner was first adopted as our national flag 231 years ago today. If you think that sounds like an astounding number, click below to download our latest infographic for more facts and figures.

Student travel has many benefits, but is also a big investment. Many school and community groups undertake a number of fundraising activities throughout the year. Whether you're just starting to consider a student trip, or you've already started crafting a custom itinerary with your dedicated Tour Consultant, we've rounded up some of our favorite fundraising ideas to help you on your way!

Are you looking for creative ways to get students excited about your classroom lessons? Do you feel like your students think of history as a lackluster list of names and dates? This is why our top student travel destinations are the living classrooms of the East Coast. Keep reading to find out how four U.S. cities make history come alive and ignite the spark of learning in your students!

Washington, D.C.is the country's largest living classroom - a perfect destination forstudent travel. As you visit the city's many monuments and museums, your student tour will come face-to-face with national accomplishments in history, civics, politics, art, and science. And on Presidents' Day weekend, you can't visit D.C. without stopping by the many memorials dedicated to some of the most influential American leaders.

You have a world of options when it comes to choosing a city for your student tour. To help you choose, we’re sharing some of our favorite destinations to visit in the new year. Keep reading to see our top 10 list, including performance and education tours to U.S. and global cities!

"Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer." – Anonymous –

At Brightspark Travel, we believe there is nothing more rewarding than creating global citizens by impacting a student's life and opening their eyes to new horizons. Educational travel fosters independent learning, expands world views, increases a student's likelihood of going to college, and inspires career choices.

Brightspark employees are always eager to travel to exciting domestic and international destinations. Traveling is embedded in our souls, so when school is out for the summer, our team can be found exploring the world! Check out a few highlights, from places our they have visited so far to destinations they are looking forward to visiting.